Jimmie & Emil Hess*

“This was their congregation… their spiritual home.”

Jimmie & Emil Hess loved Temple Emanu-El. It was their congregation… their spiritual home. It was the place that so many important simchas took place – Consecrations, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Confirmations, weddings and, yes, funerals. Our rabbis were their rabbis, especially Milton Grafman and Jonathan Miller. When Emil’s father, Carl, died, the family dedicated our first chapel to him, and later the family contributed a lead gift to name the new chapel.

Jimmie and Emil were passionate leaders in our Jewish community and the broader community. They committed their resources, financial and human, to causes they believed in and were not bashful about asking others to do the same. Temple Emanu-El was fortunate to be one of their passions.

Their son Donald said, “By endowing their dues, my parents had the foresight to know that this was a great way to perpetuate the Temple that they cared so much about for generations to come”.

Leaving Your Legacy

As we honor the visionary commitment of these thoughtful philanthropists, we hope, in turn, that others will be inspired to follow their footsteps. Establishing your personal legacy gift of any size is welcomed — and will leave a unique and lasting imprint of your and/or your family’s deep connection to our traditions, culture, values and congregation.

To learn more about the many legacy opportunities available, click here, or